German camera market continues to grow

In terms of units, the sales volume of system cameras with exchangeable lenses increased by 10 percent year on year in the first six months of 2011, while the value increased by 13 percent. This positive development confirmed the trend that more and more consumers upgrade their photo equipment to professional level, commented Christoph Thomas, Chairman of the Board of Photoindustrie-Verband. More and more consumers using compact cameras were now buying system cameras, he added. As a result, Photoindustrie-Verband expects sales of more than 900,000 system cameras in Germany for 2011, after 960,000 units in 2010. In line with the strong demand for system cameras, the number of exchangeable lenses sold in Germany grew 9 percent during the first-half year; turnover increased by 18 percent.

In the compact camera segment, new features such as effect filters, HD video, touch-sensitive displays, GPS, Wireless LAN and 3D are attracting consumers to replace their cameras with new models, the association said.